Chapel of the Cross Children & Family Ministry

Today, Sarah Deitz will tell the story of Moses and the Israelites as they wandered hungry in the wilderness. Sarah will also show us how to make the craft from the Fall Faith box*. Jeremiah, Walden and Desmond Murphy will share the Gospel story of the Workers in the Vineyard. These Bible stories are part of the Revised Common Lectionary, the list of readings shared by many churches around the world. You can hear the same Scripture passages read in our live-streamed church service on Facebook @cotcchapelhill at 9:00 AM.

If you do not have a Fall Faith box, you can still draw a picture of a quail. Have you ever eaten quail or quail eggs? What do you think manna tastes like? Have you ever eaten fruit that grew on a vine?

* To register for Fall Faith lessons, contact Boykin at bbell@thechapelofthecross.org.

Boykin is scared of storms. Sally the dog is scared of guitars. The Israelites who followed Moses into the wilderness were scared their wouldn’t find food. What do you do when you’re scared? Do you pray? Do you sing? What are your favorite songs to sing when you’re scared? (Boykin and Greg disagree.)

Jonathan Richman is a musician from Boston who played in a proto-punk band called the Modern Lovers. Greg is punking Boykin, so to speak, by playing “My Favorite Things” with a Richman beat.

When we’re happy, we sing. When we’re sad, we sing. When we’re scared of storms? Yes, we sing. Songs can be prayer – even when they’re silly songs, even when they’re Sally songs. Today, we pray for everyone affected by Hurricane Sally.

In 1996, Hurricane Fran came through North Carolina and almost everybody in Chapel Hill lost electricity. After the clean-up (but before Jones was born in October), we Bells bought a Victrola. We didn’t have Spotify and cell phone battery chargers back then so if we wanted to listen to music, we needed something old-fashioned.

Things are the same – for so long, they’ve seemed the same – yet things are changing. How are you adapting to change? How are you making Change happen?

The air is getting cooler and we can feel the (natural) seasons starting to change. We think the hummingbirds in our yard have flown south; we haven’t seen them in a few days. Meanwhile, tadpoles grew in our friend Liz’s backyard pond and they’ve become Spotted Salamanders. Things change. Things grow. Even now.

We miss church, no doubt. We’re also really excited to see Fall Faith-at-Home begin. Thank you for sharing pictures!

Today, we start “Fall Faith.” Each Sunday, we’ll follow the same Lectionary Readings we hear in “Big Church” while we sing familiar Children’s Chapel songs, set the altar and pray prayers we know by heart. We’ll also do crafty things to help remember the week’s Bible story. If you signed up for a “Fall Faith” box, you should have received it. If you didn’t sign up, no worries. You can still participate in the lessons.

Many thanks to Cate Palmer for telling the story this week and to the Murphys for teaching with the craft.

If you signed up for “Fall Faith,” check you email for a page of “Threads” from Weaving God’s Promises that help tie today’s lesson to the Christian story, our Episcopal tradition and contemporary times.

We have 17 teachers and Children’s Chapel leaders – let’s just call them story-tellers – ready to encourage Faith-at-Home this fall. Here are three of them, who have sent video greetings. We’ll meet more in the coming weeks. Tomorrow, we’ll post a bit of Children’s Chapel and a story about Moses told by Cate Palmer.

Maybe you find joy in a backyard lizard or a mischievous dog. Maybe you find joy in a completed homework assignment or a jog around the block. There is joy around us. There is music in the air. Look and listen. Share joy when you can, especially during days that might be hard.

The name of this song is “Up Above the Air.” You can find Sister Rosetta Tharpe singing it on YouTube and you should. (But for the first time playing it through, these boys did okay.)